Staff Resources / Human ResourcesMcCormick Performance Excellence Resources
Performance Excellence, Northwestern's annual performance review process, is conducted for all staff positions. While the program helps you accomplish your goals, it also encourages leaders and their teams to set priorities for what needs to be accomplished and how things might be done. This results in greater workplace effectiveness, efficiency, and engagement.
Important Dates: FY25 Annual Review
Staff: Self-Reviews completed by June 16, 2025:
In myHR Learn, the staff member enters comments that state their contributions in the past year, as well as areas they need to improve and progress toward annual goals.
Manager: Year-End Performance Ratings completed by June 27, 2025:
The manager assigns a performance rating in myHR Learn for each staff member. The ratings are used as input into merit decisions, and to better understand recognition and talent development opportunities. When completed, click Next and then close the page (it will save automatically), but do not click Release button.
Performance ratings should not be communicated to staff during this step.
Manager: Performance Reviews completed by July 14, 2025:
The manager prepares staff performance review by responding to stated goals and providing comments reflecting accomplishments and strengths, as well as identifying areas for improvement. When completed, click Next and then close the review (it will save automatically), but do not click Release button.
Manager & Staff: Year-End Review Conversation completed by August 4, 2025:
Once both staff self-review and manager review are entered in the online system, manager and staff member will meet to discuss performance and final year end rating. It is at this meeting that the manager's comments will be reviewed. Additional changes may be made to the review document, as necessary. Note that performance ratings cannot be changed.
Manager: Submission of final review in myHR by August 15, 2025:
The manager enters final changes to review. Click Next button to update changes, then click Release to submit the performance review in myHR Learn and make visible to employee.
Staff: Accept final review in myHR Learn by August 22, 2025:
Staff confirm the final review in myHR Learn and, when ready, fill in check box acknowledging receipt and then click Finalize to close the PEX process for FY24.
A Year Round Conversation
Performance Excellence, our annual performance management experience, is a vital part of how you perform and grow.
What is Performance Excellence?
Northwestern’s Performance Excellence is a year-round experience driven by staff members and supervisors, to support individual performance and development and help teams, departments and the University become stronger and more effective. Activities such as goal-setting, check-ins, and performance reviews are structured across three phases and involve both offline conversations and online tracking and recording.
Ready to log in to the system?
Understanding the Phases
Performance Excellence is a year-round experience that is structured into the three phases listed below.
Set Goals
Setting goals at the beginning of the performance year can promote focus and ensure the alignment of your work to the goals of your school or unit.
Performance Excellence incorporates the SIMple goal-setting process that encourages supervisors and staff to jointly set two to four goals that are Specific, Important and Meaningful.
Enhance Performance
Throughout the year, staff members and their supervisors are mutually accountable for enhancing performance, supported by conversations, feedback and coaching.
Staff members are primary owners of their learning, performance and career, while supervisors inspire, guide and help remove the barriers – whether external or internal – that stand in the way of learning, performance and fulfillment.
Review Results
Understanding your strengths and where you stand is important. Knowing this sparks continued growth and development.
At year-end, Performance Excellence features a straightforward process in myHR Learn, utilizing a simplified rating framework and tools for supporting a performance review conversation focused on growth and development.